Mirrors on the Mountain

There’s a little town in Austria called Rattenberg. It sits in the shadow of a 3,000-foot mountain, and from November to February, the sun never touches it. Four long months of cold darkness. People have been leaving the town for years because who can live that long without light?

But then some folks got creative. They mounted giant mirrors on the mountainside. Those mirrors catch the sunlight from the other side and reflect it down into the town. Suddenly, the people of Rattenberg could walk in the light again.

Now hold that image in your mind when you hear John the Baptist speak in Luke 3:16: “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John was not the light. He didn’t pretend to be. His whole job was to point to Jesus, the true Light of the world. He was a mirror on the mountain. And that’s what you and I are called to be, too.

Think about it:

• A mirror doesn’t make light. It only reflects what it has received. You and I don’t manufacture God’s love—we reflect what Christ has already shined into our lives.

• A mirror has to face the right way. Tilt it wrong, and the light never makes it where it needs to go. Our hearts need daily turning toward Jesus—through prayer, Scripture, and worship—so His love shines where it’s most needed.

• A mirror brightens the dark. Just like those Austrian villagers, our neighbors are weary from long winters of loneliness, fear, and despair. When we reflect Christ’s love, the shadows lift. People can walk in the light again.

  
  

So the question is simple: when people look at you, do they see only the shadow of the mountain, or do they catch a glimpse of the Light of Christ reflected in your life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, shine Your love into my heart so that I may reflect it into the dark corners of this world. Make me a mirror, not for my sake, but so others may walk in Your light. Amen.